Lose!
apple Rating: 4.8
android Rating: 4.1
Free, in-app upgrades available
Lose! is a calorie counting and food tracking app focused on helping you reach your weight loss goals. Set your weight loss goals in the app and track your meals, meals, and exercise to lose weight. Lose It! Easily track the nutrition, macros, carbohydrates, and calorie intake of the foods you eat.
The premium version of the app offers more targeted goal setting, as well as custom diet plans and community support. An annual premium membership costs $39.99, but you can also purchase a lifetime premium membership for $149.99.
my fitness pal
Apple rating: 4.7
Android rating: 4.3
Free, in-app upgrades available
MyFitnessPal is one of the most popular health apps. “(It) provides important functionality for tracking, so you can find many products with accurate nutritional information,” says Gladney. MyFitnessPal also lets you track your meals at many restaurants and quickly find food in stores and pantries using a barcode scanner. It also acts as an exercise tracker, recording your physical activity and providing space to sync with many exercise tracking devices. Upgrade to MyFitnessPal Premium to unlock even more features, including food analysis tools that reveal which foods are highest in the nutrients you want to focus on, and guided fitness and nutrition plans to help you reach your goals. (Currently priced at $19.99 per month or $79.99 per year for a premium subscription, you can try it free for one month.) A similar option is CalorieKing, which is free on Google Play and the App Store (albeit with poor reviews).
carbohydrate manager
Apple rating: 4.8
Android rating: 4.7
Free, in-app upgrades available
This app uses a food database and barcode scanner to track carbohydrates, protein, fat, and calories. You can record your meals with photos and voice memos. You can set and track weight loss goals and log your exercise, but syncing with your fitness tracker requires an upgrade to a subscription service. Please note that this app includes features for people on a low-carb diet, ketogenic diet, or intermittent fasting. Jenice Ilkowitz, RN, CDCES, a research nurse at New York University Langone Health in New York City, points out that these diets aren’t right for everyone. Be wary of accepting dietary advice from apps and consult your doctor, endocrinologist, RDN, or CDCES before making any changes to your diet.
The free version offers a food diary, macro tracker, calorie counter, weight log (which charts both weight loss and body mass index), and an exercise tracker, but adding the subscription service lets you track your blood sugar and insulin levels. (Current subscription price is $8.49 per month or $39.99 per year.)
Figwee Visual Food Diary (Android)
Apple rating: 4.7
Android rating: 3.4
Free, in-app upgrades available
Do you know what a standard portion size is? Unless you measure your meals, you may be recording inaccurate portion sizes. Figwee takes the guesswork out of tracking your meals and shows you photos of step-by-step portions so you can better understand your intake. Simply search for the food you want to record, select a photo that matches what you ate, and adjust the portions by moving the photo slider up or down until you see the right amount. Then tap to add it to your food diary.
Nutritional information (calories, fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol, etc.) for the portion you eat is also displayed. “This helps many patients understand how many carbohydrates they are ingesting when eating at a restaurant based on what is served,” says Amy Kimberlein, CDCES, a Miami-based registered dietitian and national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Upgrading to the paid version gives you even more features, including an activity tracker, custom food builder (if you can’t find your food in the database), desktop integration, and no ads. (Current subscription price is $7.99 per month.)
FatSecret calorie counter
Apple rating: 4.7
Android rating: 4.6
Free, in-app upgrades available
The FatSecret meal tracking app is the one Kimberlein uses most frequently with her patients. “We don’t recommend this name, but we use it because of its functionality,” she says. This allows you to track your meals (using a barcode scanner, manually entering your food, or taking a photo), exercise, and weight, and share that information with your healthcare provider using a link via email. “[Then]you can make comments and suggestions based on what’s entered,” Kimberlein says. The app also includes a diary feature to keep track of your progress, and a recipe library filled with healthy eating ideas.
For even more features, including advanced meal planning and dietitian-created meal plans for different dietary preferences, upgrade to the premium version for $6.99 per month.
